Dublin City Council Adopts 1st 'Public Realm Strategy'
Your City, Your Space; Dublin City Public Realm Strategy has now been finalised and adopted by Dublin City Council at its meeting on September 3rd 2012. The strategy aims to improve Dublin’s attractiveness to those who live, work in or visit the city by agreeing standards for how the public realm is planned, designed and managed.
What is the ‘Public Realm’?
Generally, all areas to which the public has access (such as roads, streets, lanes, parks, squares and bridges) make up the ‘public realm’. This includes
the publicly accessible space between buildings, along with the spaces and the buildings or other structures that enclose them.
Why does Dublin need a public realm strategy?
These public spaces of the city play a vital role in how Dublin functions and its attractiveness to those who live in, work or visit the city. The public realm
is the main space for movement, circulation and other service infrastructure. It is a key part of the city’s identity and distinctive character and its quality
affects the city’s competitiveness and ability to attract investment. Because the public realm is so essential to the everyday experience of the city, how it is planned, designed and managed is very important.
What area does this Strategy cover?
It applies to the historic, cultural and commercial core of the city between the Royal and Grand Canals. This includes all the public streets, roads, lanes and
spaces, and the interface between public and private space. It is intended that in the future an updated Strategy will apply to the entire Dublin City Council administrative area.
Who is behind this Strategy and who is it for?
An in-house multi-disciplinary team prepared this Strategy for use by Dublin City Council, the public and the full range of external stakeholders. The
public realm is important to the city, which is why Dublin City Council recognizes that it requires this new and collaborative approach. This Public Realm Co-ordination Group will co-ordinate the actions outlined in the Strategy and also work with other public agencies and private developers to improve the quality of the city’s public realm.
Your City, Your Space; Dublin City Public Realm Strategy can be viewed here [external website].